


Amai

by Eldritch



Category: Suikoden IV
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-04-23
Updated: 2009-04-23
Packaged: 2017-10-02 15:00:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eldritch/pseuds/Eldritch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amai: 1) sweet, 2) naive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Amai

He'd picked them up in Nay Village, when the ship had pulled into port to briefly restock. An old man had been selling them in plain, homespun cloth pouches stacked on the counter of the man's stall that were as far from the gauzy silk bags his father used to bring home for Snowe as possible, but the little star-shaped candies inside were exactly the same. It had taken all the potch he had to pay for one small pouch of sweets, which had been a shock to realize, after an entire lifetime of throwing coins at his every whim. He'd clutched it to his chest all the way back to the ship, half-formed plans intermixed with apologies swirling through his head.

Snowe hesitated in front of Lazlo's door. He brought his hand up to knock, letting it fall before it ever touched the worn wood. Instead, he opened it slowly. The room was dark, but the light from the hallway illuminated the figure cocooned by blankets on the bed. Suddenly, Snowe was glad he hadn't knocked. Lazlo looked like he needed the rest.. Asleep, Lazlo's deteriorating health was all the more obvious. Dark circles ringed his eyes, and his sun-browned skin had gone dull and ashen. The rise and fall of his chest even seemed shallower than it should be.

The floorboards creaked as Snowe slowly picked his way across the floor, but Lazlo didn't stir. He placed the sweets on the little table next to the bed. As he backed away, a shiver ran through Lazlo's sleeping form, and Snowe froze. Part of him wanted to reach out to Lazlo, to pet his hair reassuringly and tell him that whatever nightmare he was having, it was only a dream. Lazlo had held him like that, once, when they were small, and Snowe had been terrified of a passing storm. But before Snowe could do anything more than consider the idea, Lazlo quieted. And Snowe crept quietly back out of the room.

\---

  
"Lazlo! Lazlo!" Snowe pushed open the door to the courtyard, his high, childish voice ringing off the stone walls. Outside the cool darkness of the manor, the air was almost oppressively hot. The humidity clung to the thin silk of Snowe's shirt, threatening to turn it transparent with moisture. He ignored it. His feet slapped against the cobbled garden path, skidding to a halt as he rounded an arch covered in sweet-smelling morning glories. "Lazlo! There you are!"

The other boy looked up from sweeping the path at the sound of Snowe's voice. "Snowe?" he asked, his broom ceasing its motion. "What is it?"

"Father's home!" Snowe grinned broadly, holding out a brightly-colored fabric bag. "And look at this! He brought me sweets!"

Lazlo's eyes widened. He leaned closer to get a better look at the bag. "That's _all_ sweets?" he asked in a voice tinged with awe.

"That's right!" Snowe said. He tugged at the ribbon holding the bag closed and pulled out a single candy. It was a small star made of sugar, dyed a pale, almost transluecent yellow. "Hold out your hand."

Hesitantly, Lazlo let go of the broom with one hand and extended it towards Snowe, who noted with some annoyance that the palm was covered in sweat and dirt. It looked completely different from Snowe's own hands, which were scrubbed clean and pink by any one of an army of soap-wielding maids the moment he dirtied them. Lazlo's hands were tanned and calloused, with unevenly-cut nails. Suddenly, Snowe couldn't bring himself to place the delicate, star-shaped sweet onto that palm. He pursed his lips. "That's no good!" he declared.

"Huh? Lazlo's gaze traveled upwards from the bag to Snowe's face, confused.

Snowe took advantage of Lazlo's slightly-parted lips to slip the candy into his mouth. "There." His fingers were coated with sugar when he pulled them back. He didn't like the way the sugar combined with the humidity to make his skin feel wet and sticky, but the smile on Lazlo's face distracted him from all that.

\---

  
"Hey."

Snowe froze, turning slowly from the deck's railing. "Lazlo," he said, trying to keep his voice steady.

In the daylight, Lazlo looked almost normal, save for a sort of weariness behind the clear blue of his eyes. "I'm on my way to talk to Eleanor, and the last thing I want is to keep her waiting, but... thanks." Before Snowe could react, Lazlo had stepped forward, pressing his dry lips against Snowe's own.

They tasted sweet.


End file.
